Chapter XXI
Pablo Antonio
The modern movement in architecture is leds by architects, who, feeling in
justified and competent to discard the old school, now uphold the new doctrines and
practices. They also employ the latest in architectural materials. They are ever
experimenting ; seeking endlessly for new lines, for new forms.
Pablo Antonio, an architect of long standing, is among the younger architects
who has figured prominently in the stride towards modernism. His success in this
particular field could partly be accounted for by the fact that before he took up
architecture formally, he had sufficient experience in building construction. He shuttled
from drafting board to actual construction. This one reason also why he was able to
earn his degree after studying formally for only about three years. At once, too, he
became an avid apostle of the new movement.
Proofs of Antonio’s competence and artist temperament are buildings that now
lend impressive views to the landscape of Manila and vicinity. One such building is the
Capitan Gonzaga building , built in 1948, along the northern intersection of Rizal
Avenue and Carriedo Street. Its distinct features art the brise solei’s, shaped like slabs
and placed alternately between deep horizontal sun breakers. These, in turn, result in
regular courses of alternating rectangles creating a very pleasing effect and interplay of
light and shade. Remarkable also is the coincidence of functional details contributing
unobtrusively to the total beauty of the structure.
The same principle, the combination of vertical and horizontal brise solei’s
though in a different system, was used in the May Building. Completed in 1950, it is now
one of the noticeable edifices along Rizal Avenue. Is is eye-catching with its five
stanchions dividing the facade into six vertical zone. These zones are subdivided into
seven rectangles each. The stanchions support a long slab above the roof line on the
front part of the building. Seven short shafts,
117
, extending from the ground to the second floor in front of the building, give the effect of a
floating block.
A different type of building is the Muller and Phipps Ltd. erected in 1959 at the
corner of Reliance and Pioneer streets in Mandaluyong, Rizal. It is along the rectangle
of two stories with pavilions towards the rear. Wide eaves minimize the glare of the
sun’s rays on the continuous openings of the façade.
It must be noted, however, that the precursor of this type of low office building
with plain wall surfaces and lines is the Singer Sewing Machine Office Building. It was
constructed in 1950 in Port Area, Manila. This particular building manufests less effect
of horizontality as it is comparatively short.
Those are some of the building that Pablo Antonio designed. Others in his list
include sixty residences, forty-eight commercial and industrial buildings, eleven
theatres, six schools, and thirty more of various categories. ( Fig. 72)
The Sea Tower Apartments on Dewey Boulevard and Libertad Street in Pasay
City is one of Antonio’s latest architectural achievements. Contracted with deeply set
openings and wide balconies, this modern apartment was designed considering its
location which gets so much of the sea breezes of Manila Bay Antonio’s designs of
post-war residential houses, like M.Perez Rubio’s in Forbes Park, embody the principles
of continuity of interior and exterior spaces.
In the Manila Polo Clubhouse, Antonio gave the extensive roof several pitches
in order to break up the monotony of a single pitch. His ingenuity in the architectural
treatment of the roof and ceiling beams makes the interior very pleasing in appearance.
The roof’s enormous overhang provides the restful view of the vast green fields.
Of the other types of building to his credit, perhaps the most outstanding, as far
as meeting modern needs and conveniences is concerned, is the Galaxy Theatre. This
movie house is provided with the latest in acoustical equipment and cooling system.
The arrangement of the seats and the seats themselves have been designed for
maximum comfort to moviegoers.
118
MODERN PERIOD – ARCHITECTURE
Other Manila Buildings,
On the Escolta are four modern structures built in the fifties. The first one
is Botica Boie Building, designed under the direction of Luis Ma. Araneta. It is on the
Pablo Antonio
The modern movement in architecture is leds by architects, who, feeling in
justified and competent to discard the old school, now uphold the new doctrines and
practices. They also employ the latest in architectural materials. They are ever
experimenting ; seeking endlessly for new lines, for new forms.
Pablo Antonio, an architect of long standing, is among the younger architects
who has figured prominently in the stride towards modernism. His success in this
particular field could partly be accounted for by the fact that before he took up
architecture formally, he had sufficient experience in building construction. He shuttled
from drafting board to actual construction. This one reason also why he was able to
earn his degree after studying formally for only about three years. At once, too, he
became an avid apostle of the new movement.
Proofs of Antonio’s competence and artist temperament are buildings that now
lend impressive views to the landscape of Manila and vicinity. One such building is the
Capitan Gonzaga building , built in 1948, along the northern intersection of Rizal
Avenue and Carriedo Street. Its distinct features art the brise solei’s, shaped like slabs
and placed alternately between deep horizontal sun breakers. These, in turn, result in
regular courses of alternating rectangles creating a very pleasing effect and interplay of
light and shade. Remarkable also is the coincidence of functional details contributing
unobtrusively to the total beauty of the structure.
The same principle, the combination of vertical and horizontal brise solei’s
though in a different system, was used in the May Building. Completed in 1950, it is now
one of the noticeable edifices along Rizal Avenue. Is is eye-catching with its five
stanchions dividing the facade into six vertical zone. These zones are subdivided into
seven rectangles each. The stanchions support a long slab above the roof line on the
front part of the building. Seven short shafts,
117
, extending from the ground to the second floor in front of the building, give the effect of a
floating block.
A different type of building is the Muller and Phipps Ltd. erected in 1959 at the
corner of Reliance and Pioneer streets in Mandaluyong, Rizal. It is along the rectangle
of two stories with pavilions towards the rear. Wide eaves minimize the glare of the
sun’s rays on the continuous openings of the façade.
It must be noted, however, that the precursor of this type of low office building
with plain wall surfaces and lines is the Singer Sewing Machine Office Building. It was
constructed in 1950 in Port Area, Manila. This particular building manufests less effect
of horizontality as it is comparatively short.
Those are some of the building that Pablo Antonio designed. Others in his list
include sixty residences, forty-eight commercial and industrial buildings, eleven
theatres, six schools, and thirty more of various categories. ( Fig. 72)
The Sea Tower Apartments on Dewey Boulevard and Libertad Street in Pasay
City is one of Antonio’s latest architectural achievements. Contracted with deeply set
openings and wide balconies, this modern apartment was designed considering its
location which gets so much of the sea breezes of Manila Bay Antonio’s designs of
post-war residential houses, like M.Perez Rubio’s in Forbes Park, embody the principles
of continuity of interior and exterior spaces.
In the Manila Polo Clubhouse, Antonio gave the extensive roof several pitches
in order to break up the monotony of a single pitch. His ingenuity in the architectural
treatment of the roof and ceiling beams makes the interior very pleasing in appearance.
The roof’s enormous overhang provides the restful view of the vast green fields.
Of the other types of building to his credit, perhaps the most outstanding, as far
as meeting modern needs and conveniences is concerned, is the Galaxy Theatre. This
movie house is provided with the latest in acoustical equipment and cooling system.
The arrangement of the seats and the seats themselves have been designed for
maximum comfort to moviegoers.
118
MODERN PERIOD – ARCHITECTURE
Other Manila Buildings,
On the Escolta are four modern structures built in the fifties. The first one
is Botica Boie Building, designed under the direction of Luis Ma. Araneta. It is on the
